Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy
The White Point Nature Preserve was established and opened for the public to enjoy its scenery, trails, and education program in 2003.
[3] The White Point Nature Education Center has been constructed from an old missile assembly building and provides visitors with exhibits showcasing the Preserve's rich cultural and ecological history.
[4] The Education Center highlights the history of the Tongvan people and their importance to the land, and is surrounded by native plant demonstration gardens.
Owned jointly by the City of Rolling Hills Estates and the Land Conservancy, intensive habitat restoration efforts have added native wildflowers and shrubs to the hillsides.
The 51-acre (21 ha) George F Canyon Preserve and Nature Center is owned by the City of Rolling Hills Estates, and operated by the Conservancy.
Visitors walk or ride on horseback through willow-riparian and coastal sage scrub habitats, culminating in a view of the Los Angeles Basin.
Hiking trails are open to pedestrians only and offer views of the LA Basin and the Catalina Islands on a clear day.
Because the bluffs and the rock formations are protected by the Conservancy, trails running through this section are designated for pedestrian use only, and the land located more inland have multi-use purposes.
In 1942, at the beginning of World War II, the land that now stands at this reserve was utilized by the US in its efforts to protect the western shore from enemy advancement tactics.
Two 6-inch diameter coastal artillery guns were constructed to protect the Catalina channel from invasion, and several bunkers were dug out to house soldiers, ammunition, and supplies.
The innovative technique used in this project was the monitoring of 250 goats, which were moved into the reserve to eat all of the non-native plants and species of weeds that had taken over the ecosystem when the preserve was originally established.
The reserve consists of Rolling Hills, five distinct canyons and rock outcrops, and an ecosystem of incredibly drought-resistant flowering shrubs and coastal sagebrush.
Portuguese Bend has a long history of recorded landslides, with its latest movement episode beginning in 1956 from a road construction project.
The area provides a hotspot for migrating birds flying both North and South depending on the time of year, and the habitat supports local species like the California gnatcatcher and the cactus wren.
In 2001, restoration began with the help of local community volunteers, so today the reserve can be considered as the best remaining area for wildlife habitat and hiking trails.
[12] This being said, the reserve's main unique features include the presence of a quarry, dramatic cliffs characterized by faults and folds, and crystals and fossils buried within the sedimentary bedding and igneous intrusions.
Once a site for residential development, the Conservancy has restored three acres of coastal sage scrub and willow wetlands habitat for native species such as the California gnatcatcher.
The DFSP mission is a restricted facility which receives, stores, and distributes diesel and jet fuels for military use in California, Arizona and Nevada.
The goals of the Conservancy's science program are to increase the scientific knowledge base of the Palos Verdes Peninsula through collaborative research.
Research projects inform restoration, conservation, education, and stewardship programs and address the interface between the natural and urban environments.
